Senior Director of Development, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism

The ASU Foundation (ASUF) fosters partnerships between ASU and like-minded individuals, corporations and foundations who believe in ASU’s mission and provide resources for ASU to manifest its charter into meaningful impact.   

For forty years, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Cronkite School) has distinguished itself among journalism programs not only for its quality but also for its commitment to the time-honored values that characterize its namesake. With over 2,500 students on campus and online, and an esteemed faculty of award-winning industry veterans and world-class media scholars, the Cronkite School fosters excellence and ethics among students as they master the professional skills they need to succeed in the digital media world of today and tomorrow. The Senior Director of Development is a senior fundraising professional, with management responsibilities, who partners with schools leaders to implement innovative programs to identify prospective major and/or principal gift donors and executes plans to qualify, cultivate and solicit donors in support of the Cronkite School.

The Senior Director of Development will execute plans to qualify, cultivate, steward and solicit donors to secure and increase significant philanthropic support in partnership with other development staff, School/Unit Directors, deans and/or faculty and campus leadership, depending on their assigned area(s) of responsibility, aimed at assuring long-term financial support for the ASU Foundation and Arizona State University.

What you’ll do: 

• Creates and leads a coordinated program of fundraising and engagement activities designed to increase the number and level of annual, major and/or principal gift donors; sets direction and approach in partnership with ASU leader’s vision in assigned area(s) of responsibility

• Manages a personal major gift donor/prospect portfolio with a primary focus on securing gifts at or above $100,000 level and a personal fundraising goal of at least $3M in accordance with performance metrics

• Leads a comprehensive unit or central development department/program; develops and executes strategies to involve campus leaders, alumni, friends, and volunteers to identify and cultivate new individual, foundation, and corporate prospects on behalf of assigned area(s) of responsibility

• Guided by the direction and scope of a prospect’s interest, collaborates with various faculty, institute/center directors, and unit-based and foundation-based fundraisers to leverage the maximum philanthropic potential of a prospect

• Guides the direction of written proposals, white papers, strategic plans, budgets, and other collateral materials as needed for securing significant ($100k+) philanthropic investments

• High level of collaboration with both internal departments and broader University partners to identify common goals and develop, execute, and advance prospect and donor strategies and increase participation among high profile volunteers and donors (i.e., alumni engagement, annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, development, donor relations, estate and gift planning, financial services, research, and prospect management, etc.)

• Ensures the proper stewardship and recognition of donors in portfolio

• Manages projects with moderate oversight; depending on area(s) of responsibility, may serve as a project manager for some complex, multilayered, university-wide proposals aimed at raising the higher gifts for a university campaign

• Recruits, motivates, develops and retains a high-performance; provides leadership, determines and evaluates individual goals, develops and implements training and mentoring, monitors coverage of primary areas of focus ensuring that goals and objectives are attained

• Ensures compliance with prospect management guidelines for tracking and maintenance of contact and progress reporting

• Manages budget, related to area(s) of assignment, ensuring a maximum return on university investments while controlling expenses

• Within area(s) of responsibility, maintains up to date knowledge on key alumni and high-level donors, and/or oversees continuous research, development and up-to-date knowledge on prospects and works with other areas to coordinate contacts

• Participates, as a member of the ASUF development team and serve as a resource to development colleagues

• Sustains and elevates working relationships with deans, chairs, directors, and faculty members within area(s) of responsibility